Karen Laurente's Family

Albert Bunoan March 2012

 

Karen Laurente, her eight siblings and her mother live in Barangay Lacong in this two-bedroom house. Her father passed away about two years ago. Mrs Laurente runs her own "buy-and-sell" produce business in the public market. Karen's family does not receive any financial help from relatives or other charity organizations.
​Since her husband's death, Mrs Laurente has tried her best to provide and support her family. It has been up to the children to take care of the family vegetable garden, and to do the other household chores. Karen is one of the older children if not the eldest and has quite a bit of responsibility for such a young person her age. But she has responded well to the challenge. Karen's family lives on less than $1167 USD a year.​

Ina Gabaldon's Family

​Albert Bunoan December 2010

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Ina Gabaldon, her six siblings and her parents live in Barangay Baracbac in this grass hut.  Mr Gabaldon is a tenant farmer who grows mostly rice and some cash crops to earn extra income. Mrs Gabaldon is a full time housewife and has no income. The Gabaldon Family eats only two meals a day to make ends meet. Ina is given PhP5.00 for her daily allowance. This takes care of tricycle fare and a little lunch. It is very hard to imagine living on less than PhP50,000 (Philippine pesos) a year. Ina is a bright student, highly motivated and has big dreams. In her freshman year at SAS she was the overall champion Chess Master having bested all the other contestants in the championship intramurals. We are very happy to be able to help Ina get her high school education at SAS through the scholarship program. Thank you for your support.​

Mariella Tacho's Family
Leonard Buenavista March 2011

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The eldest of three children, Mariella Tacho, her two siblings and parents live in the impoverished Barangay of  Pula. Mr and Mrs Tacho are in a common-law living arrangement. Although the common-law relationship between their parents sounds tentative, Mariella's family members all take as serious business the family construct and its day to day existence. Mariella's father is a tenant farmer. Her mother is an unemployed housewife. The only monies coming in are from what they can cobble from the cash crops they grow on the farm such as, corn, mongo beans, string beans, eggplants and okra. Mariella states that although they have relatives working  overseas, her family gets no financial help from any of them. They live on less than $1167 USD a year​.